First Impressions
by waiting-all-night
Summary: Bellatrix's first impressions of Hermione.


**Thank you for reading "Our History is before us". I'm so glad everyone seems to be enjoying it so far. If you haven't read it, this story might not make much sense.** **Disclaimer: I don't anything Harry Potter.**

Bellatrix was rushing through the deserted dungeon corridors; running late. . . again and all because of her damned hair. Thankfully she was only late for Slughorn's Potions lesson a level below the Slytherin common room. She knew that she had the rotund Potions Master wrapped around her little finger; she could get away with anything if she batted her eyelashes and shot him a sweet smile. Her mother had demanded that this year she start taking more pride in her appearance because according to her, at seventeen, she was a woman now. But not just any woman, a pure-blood woman and as such there were certain standards she would be held to. One of those was being immaculately turned out at all times. Bellatrix thought it was ridiculous, she didn't understand how her appearance made any difference what so ever. She was one of the brightest witches in her year; she was predicted 'Outstanding' in all of her NEWTs, she was an exceptional duellist and she had perfected many non-verbal spells while her peers were still struggling with Wingardium Leviosa. On top of all of this she was a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, any man would be lucky to win her as his bride. Not that Bellatrix was interested in getting married but she knew that her mother was concerned with making sure that she married into a reputable and respected pure-blood family. Her parents had her entire life planned out for her and she was sure that they already had her husband picked out, much to her irritation. She could tell a respectable pure-blood match much better than her parents; she would certainly pick someone worthier than the spineless Lucius Malfoy that they allowed to sniff around her sister Narcissa. It would be a cold day in hell before she would allow her little sister to marry that toad.

As Bellatrix trotted down the staircase that led to the potions classroom she heard something that stopped her in her tracks and dragged her out of her reverie; a human voice. Surely another student wasn't late to class as well? The castle was too full of goody two shoes that were too worried about disappointing the great Albus Dumbledore for that to happen. The place hadn't been nearly as interesting since Fabian and Gideon Prewitt had left.

"It's not that hard, just knock on the door." The female voice whispered, the girl obviously talking more to herself than anyone else.

Bellatrix carefully crept down another step so that she could peer around the corner and put a face to the disembodied voice. She caught a glimpse of bushy hair and instantly knew who the voice belonged to; the new girl. She had seen the new girl prowling the grounds at night while being vigilantly supervised by Professor Mcgonagall. The girl had been in the castle all last week but this was the first time she had turned up in lessons. Bellatrix knew the girl had been here a week thanks to her nightly routine of sneaking up to the Astronomy Tower. From her vantage point high up above the rest of the castle she could see the entirety of the school grounds and therefore was privy to the nocturnal comings and goings of the other inhabitants. Bellatrix loved her time on the Astronomy Tower she would carefully perch as close as she dared to the edge and allow her feet to hang freely over the side of the building. Up there on her own with the wind whipping around her she felt free, free to be herself and surround herself with her own thoughts without the worry of someone listening in. She could think about what she would do with her life if she had not been born into a pure-blood family, what she would do were she to be in charge of her own destiny. The Astronomy Tower was where Bellatrix left her deepest, darkest desires, where she thought through and then abandoned aspirations for a life she would never be allowed to live.

Taking a deep breath Bellatrix stepped out into the corridor the girl was standing in; she drew herself up to her full height. "Talking to yourself in the corridors isn't going to win you many friends new girl." She said, trying her best to sound cocky and confident.

The girl seemed surprised but quickly recovered turning to face the black haired witch, as she did so she subconsciously raised her chin and puffed her chest out. Bellatrix knew this to be a sign that the girl was trying to seem more confident than she felt. She knew this because it was a pose she regularly struck at her parent's social gatherings where she was shown off like a prize heifer up for auction to Britain's pure-blood elite. The bushy haired witch's eyebrows pulled together delicately and she narrowed her eyes as she tilted her head to the side ever so slightly obviously evaluating her. Bellatrix took the opportunity to return the favour; although the new girl had tried to arrange her posture so that she looked composed and collected her toes still pointed inwards slightly in a way that the black haired witch found unexplainably endearing. Bellatrix quirked her eyebrow as she took in the girl's Ravenclaw robes, she was slightly disappointed the girl wasn't in Slytherin but at least she wasn't a Gryffindor. It was obvious from the way that the robes hung and how uncomfortable the girl looked in them that they were brand new. Where had this girl come from? Bellatrix loved to acquire knowledge and the fact that this girl was a mystery to her bothered her. If she was new to Hogwarts that meant she must have attended one of the schools on the continent; Beauxbatons, Durmstrang or maybe even Koldovstoretz. Where had she come from? Bellatrix's gaze finally made it to the girl's face; her bone structure was delicate and almost elfin. But that delicacy stopped at her features, although they were fine and feminine the girl held her face in a way that made her look determined and wilful. At first glance the girl could be mistaken for a wilting wallflower but there was something about the fire in her dark eyes that said she would not go down without a fight. She looked like she could be a challenge and there was nothing that Bellatrix loved more than someone who challenged her. She came across them so infrequently.

"Well are you going to go in or are you going to just stare at me all day?" Bellatrix decided to test her theory and see how far she could push the girl straight away.

"I….Ye…I" the girl stuttered, Bellatrix sighed and shook her head in disappointment. Maybe she had read the girl wrong and she was just as pathetic as all of the other ants that swarmed around this castle.

"Move" Bellatrix commanded as she breezed past the dumbfounded girl and barged into the potions classroom.

"Ahhh, Miss Black. What a pleasure for you to join us." Professor Slughorn called in his annoyingly eager voice. All of her classmate's heads turned in Bellatrix's direction and she became distinctly aware of someone stood very close to her. The girl was stood so close to her that she could feel her body heat and smell her perfume, she smelled like vanilla. "And it appears you've brought along a friend." Slughorn highlighted pointlessly.

Bellatrix threw on one of the smiles that she knew always won Slughorn over and saw an opportunity to test out the new girl again. "Yes Professor. I apologise for being late but you see I was helping our new student find the room. She had gotten terribly lost."

"No I.." Bellatrix could have jumped for joy. The girl had bitten back, finally someone who might challenge her. She almost felt bad for elbowing the girl in the ribs. . .almost. The girl threw her a look filled with fire and she had to fight with herself not to smirk as she returned her look.

"Wonderful, wonderful. Your hospitality can cancel out the house points I was going to deduct from Slytherin as a result of you being late. Now, take your seat Miss Black." Slughorn dismissed her.

"Thank you Professor." Bellatrix grinned again at Slughorn, she could feel the tension that filled the girl. She wasn't entirely sure why it happened but she was pretty sure it had something to do with her, she decided to cash in on it. Bellatrix looked over her shoulder and threw the girl a wink; she stayed looking at her just long enough to see the bushy haired witch clench her jaw and stiffen her back.

"So, you are my new student? You are very welcome Miss….?" Finally Slughorn had asked the question Bellatrix had been dying to ask, but of course she couldn't because that would ruin her aloof image.

"Erm…Ross. Hermione Ross." Hermione stuttered nervously, yet again today Bellatrix found the girl surprisingly endearing. Her nervousness was sweet somehow and ignited a protective instinct in her that usually only stretched to her sisters.

"Wonderful, wonderful. The only seat that we have left is right in the back with Miss Black. But considering she has already made such an effort to assist you I am sure that will be fine. Miss Black is very proficient at Potions she will be able to help you along quite nicely." Slughorn informed the girl with his signature stupid grin.

Bellatrix heart skipped a beat; the girl, Hermione, was going to be sitting next to her, more than likely, for the rest of the school year. Why did that thought make her feel mildly excited? She had barely said two words to this girl but she was already hooked. Bellatrix didn't like people, she didn't have friends. The closest she got to having friends was her sister Andromeda and yet she felt oddly drawn to this girl as though they were already connected somehow. And wait. . . did Slughorn just say she was proficient at potions? Proficient? She was excellent at potions, the best in the class and she had been since her first year.

"Of course Professor." Hermione said stiffly before she turned towards her assigned table with a look on her face that could turn milk sour. Bellatrix had hoped that the bushy haired girl might be different from everyone else at this school; different from all of her peers who hated her on speck simply for being a Black. She tried to write their distance off as jealousy but deep down she knew it was because of her family's affiliation to the Dark Arts. She had come to Hogwarts hoping to find people that she could connect with, maybe even call friends. But by the end of the first week it became clear to Bellatrix that a reputation preceded her, a reputation that no one seemed able to discount or willing to look past. So instead of fighting it she decided to live up to it, she had decided to become the intimidating, cold bitch people expected her to be.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes as she tried to fight down the disappointment that she felt and did what she did best. She threw up the walls that she spent her life hiding behind and tried to make it seem as though she didn't care at all, hoping that if she believed it enough so would everyone else. "Well, Ermross. Let's hope you are better at potions than you are at opening doors."

 **Apologies if anything looks weird I have attempted to update from the app on my phone. Which I have never done before.** **Thank you so much for reading. As always let me know what you think in the reviews or PMs. :)**


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